Tag Archives: iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Jelli, Inc., the technology company that powers the SoundPoint programmatic platform.

The Jelli platform is the pioneering technology foundation for programmatic buying and selling of broadcast radio, and this acquisition will enable iHeartMedia to further leverage Jelli’s assets to continue to create for brands a digital-compatible buying platform for broadcast radio that includes targeting and creative optimization based on data and attribution tools compatible with the offerings of the major digital players.

In addition, “Expressway from Katz,” the industry’s programmatic buying ad exchange for the country’s leading radio groups, will continue to remain independently run by Katz, powered by Jelli.

“At iHeart, we believe marketing is both math and magic. The math is in our rich data and insights about users and how they relate to our partners’ products and services – and the magic is the incredible creative ideas we bring to our partners, such as our iconic music events, award shows, influencers, podcasts, social reach and our unique on air promotions. Jelli allows us to do something no other company can do – advertisers can now buy and use our broadcast assets, reach and impact just as they use the major digital players. We now offer heavy data and heavy creative innovation all in one place,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc.

Jelli also announced that it will be acquired by iHeartMedia in a merger intended to be closed before year-end. Jelli said iHeartMedia has been a strategic partner of theirs for years and a strategic investor.

“By paring iHeartMedia’s reach and multiplatform assets with our cloud-based advertising technology, we are positioned to provide a single platform for advertisers to reach all audiences, no matter where they are consuming audio,” said Michael Dougherty, co-founder and CEO of Jelli. “As audio consumption continues to explode, we are thrilled to be joining the iHeartMedia team, accelerating Jelli’s mission of transforming audio advertising through technology innovation.”

As part of the acquisition, Jelli will continue to operate as a company within iHeartMedia, Inc. led by President and CEO Michael Dougherty and his team. The Jelli division will continue to be based in Silicon Valley and will become iHeartMedia’s primary ad technology company.

With over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S., and over 131 million social followers, iHeartMedia has the largest national reach of any radio or television outlet in America. Recently, iHeartMedia announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Stuff Media, LLC, the leading for-profit publisher of entertainment and informative podcast content, which includes HowStuffWorks (HSW) podcasting platform.

iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s all-in-one digital music, podcast, on demand and streaming radio service, is already partnered with all major publishers and features more than 20,000 podcasts ranging from NPR to WNYC to ESPN and Gimlet, and the iHeartRadio Podcast Network hosts more than 750 iHeartRadio Original shows.

The acquisition will enable iHeartMedia to leverage Stuff Media’s original content, programming, and experienced podcast management team and to further expand its podcasting platform. The Wall Street Journal reported that a value for the deal of $55 million. The transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

Conal Byrne will join iHeartMedia as head of its podcast division. Stuff Media’s podcasts will maintain their branding and remain headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with Byrne continuing as President and CEO of that studio as well. Byrne will report to Darren Davis, President of the iHeartMedia Networks Group and iHeartRadio.

Chris Peterson has been promoted to EVP of the podcasting division for iHeartMedia, and will oversee the full slate of iHeartRadio Original podcasts, as well as manage the affiliate relationships for the company, and will report to Byrne.

In a press release, iHeartMedia announced that it has filed for bankruptcy. The press release said that day-to-day operations will continue as usual during the restructuring process.

On March 14, 2018, iHeartMedia announced that it reached an agreement in principle with stakeholders of more than $10 billion of its outstanding debt and its financial sponsors. The agreement reflects widespread support for a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring that will reduce iHeartMedia’s debt by more than $10 billion.

To implement the balance sheet restructuring contemplated by the agreement, iHeartMedia and certain of its subsidiaries, including iHeartCommunications, Inc., have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., and its subsidiaries did not commence Chapter 11 proceedings.

The press release says that iHeartMedia filed with the Bankruptcy Court a series of customary motions seeking to maintain business-as-usual operations and uphold its commitments to its valued employees and other stakeholders during the process. iHeartMedia believes that its cash on hand, together with cash generated from ongoing operations, will be sufficient to fund and support the business during the Chapter 11 proceedings.

Earlier this month, iHeartMedia hired two people to fill important positions at iHeartRadio. They now have a new senior VP of Marketing and a new VP of Podcasting.

Beth Murphy has been hired as Senior Vice President of Marketing. Previously, she was the the chief marketing officer at Deezer, a Paris-based music service, from August of 2014 through February of 2016, and the CMO at Stitcher (which was acquired by Deezer in October of 2014). She managed international marketing and B2B efforts for both streaming services.

Chris Peterson has been hired as Senior Vice President of Podcasting. He will oversee iHeartRadio’s overall podcast strategy and grow its profile in the community. Chris Peterson was previously at TuneIn, which is a competitor to iHeartRadio in the radio aggregation business. He was Content Partnership Manager at TuneIn. Chris Peterson was also the Director of Operations for Glenn Beck’s The Blaze network.

NPR and iHeartMedia announced an agreement that will allow NPR’s Member stations to make their live News Talk programing available via iHeartRadio. This partnership enables NPR’s Member stations to get more distribution, and adds content to iHeartRadio.

The agreement allows more than 260 NPR Member stations to have the opportunity to stream their live programing on iHeartRadio, which is available across more than 80 unique device platforms including in-home entertainment, wearables, gaming consoles, enhanced audio dashboards, and more. iHeartRadio has over a billion app downloads, more than 85 million registered users and its network reaches more than 85 million social followers.

Put that all together, and the partnership gives NPR Member stations the ability to reach millions of new listeners worldwide. Part of the agreement is that all NPR Member stations that join iHeartRadio will have access to 50% of their individual iHeartRadio landing page’s digital banner inventory to encourage listeners to donate and directly support the station’s public programing.

Public radio fans can visit iHeartRadio.com to check out all available News Talk programing. iHeartRadio offers instant access to thousands of live radio stations from across the country, custom artist stations from a catalog of more than 24 million songs and 830,000 artists, on-demand podcasts and a feature called “My Favorites Radio”, which combines all of a listener’s favorite artist and thumbed up songs in one station.

WeWork has a mission “to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living”. They have teamed up with iHeartMedia, which is a global media and entertainment company. Together, the two are creating Work Radio – which appears to have some room for podcasts.

The WeWork Team posted some information about this collaboration. Work Radio will be a live station on iHeartRadio that features an original mix of music and exclusive content centered on entrepreneurship and creating your life’s work.

Work Radio will feature a universal music channel that will be streamed across their locations nationwide. The music channel will also be available under a “Perfect for Work” label through the iHeartRadio app and website.

Later in the summer of 2016, Work Radio will begin streaming episodes of an original podcast on Work Radio. It will feature “honest conversations between entrepreneurs and creators to inspire our community of almost 60,000 members and iHeartRadio’s more than 85 million registered users.”

AdWeek says that the companies are building a new studio in WeWork’s headquarters in Manhattan which will be used for livestream interviews, concerts, events and performances. The studio will also create original podcast series.

Since the partnership will tailor all the content and music for WeWork locations, iHeartMedia and WeWork are trying to attract brands that want to target entrepreneurs around the U.S. And internationally. One of the first brands to sign on is Dell, which will be a part of the official launch.

AdWeek reports that the partnership will be officially launched next week with an event featuring “4-hour Work Week” author Tim Ferriss and Spotify executive Troy Carter. There may be some unannounced music guests who will preform at the launch.

After the first studio is built at WeWork’s headquarters, the plan is to build additional studios at other WeWork locations. The goal is to allow members to record and broadcast podcasts and other content.

iHeartMedia, the megalithic company formerly known as Clear Channel Communications, recently moved from the distribution side of the digital fence to the production side. iHeart has been active in providing various digital streams across a plethora of platforms for years. The company already includes some podcasts in its directory thru a partnership with Spreaker. Now, like so many other established content purveyors, iHeartMedia will begin producing a number of original shows, specifically as podcasts. These shows will be distributed thru all of the usual digital channels and some may even be heard on iHeart’s network of terrestrial radio stations.

Here’s a list of these new podcasts:

Skybound Rundown: Focused on indie games, hosted by “indie gamers.”

The Vent: An advice show for moms, hosted by actress Jaime Pressly.

Heart of the Beat: Musical artists discuss how their songs were made.

Get Mic’d: A realty-style talent show where judges find “the next great iHeartMedia DJ.”

Who Is Marty Hirsch?: A parody/mockumentary style show that will feature the voices of celebrity musicians “documenting” the life and times of a fictitious media mogul.

There’s no official word yet as to when these new shows will debut or what their typical running times will be. Along with the new podcast announcement, iHeartMedia also announced a partnership with popular instant messaging app Snapchat. But details of just how these two services will interact is still under wraps.